Luke Judge

PANAMA CITY BEACH — Whether it was flip flops or heels, friends and family flocked to watch fireworks light up the sky and beach balls rain on the streets of Pier Park Saturday night for the fourth annual New Year’s Eve celebration.

Glitter and excitement reigned supreme for children, as they prepared to greet the new year with the party designed specifically for them. Michael Newman, 9, said he couldn’t wait for the inflated beach balls to drop.

“I’m ready for the new year and I want to watch both ball drops, but I want to take home some of the beach balls,” Newman said.

The first beach-ball drop, during which 10,000 beach balls fell to the delight of the children, was at 8 p.m. Then as the clock neared midnight, a second beach ball drop was to mark the new year.

Natalie Campbell, 20, and Dillan Black, 21, came out for Campbell’s first ball drop and they weren’t the only ones enjoying the festivities for the first time. Charles and Mariyln Orr and Karen and Doug MacDuff of Lindsay, Ontario, are spending their winter in PCB.

“It’s the first time at the park for New Year’s for all of us. We wanted to experience all of it. We’re watching the beach ball drops, having dinner and drinks and we’re wandering around enjoying everything,” Karen MacDuff said.

One family traveled from Indiana for vacation, unable to resist the fun and sun of Florida and made plans to celebrate at Pier Park because the kids would have so many things to do. Heather Wilson, 9, and her cousin Jason Smith camped out under the beach ball nets waiting for the drop.

Preparations

Four generations of the Robinson family, ranging from 1 year old to 70-plus, gathered with other volunteers in Pier Park Friday to inflate more than 10,000 beach balls in preparation for the fourth annual New Year’s Eve festivities Saturday night.

Director of marketing and business development at Pier Park, Felicia Cook, said her family, the Robinsons, come down from Indiana each year to help.

Every year sees changes and additions to the New Year’s Eve celebration, such as adding the family oriented beach ball drop, using a professional rigger to set up the beach ball drop so it is easier for the kids to catch the balls, and this year, even more beach balls.

“every year, we critique and try to do something better,” Cook said. “That’s the ultimate goal, every year add an element and do something nicer than we did the year before.”

This year, there were two fireworks shows from PyroShows, who did nine separate shows on the coast. The first show was at eight and the second, accompanied by and synchronized to music, at midnight.

Another addition this year was technologically and gift-giving focused. Simon Property Group gave away chocolate squares for people checking in at the celebration on Foursquare and gift cards as prizes for text-to-win contests. other prizes came from sponsors and included gift bags, surfboards, and stays at various resorts.

Sarah Darling was set to sing “Auld Lang Syne.” almost There, the Barry Fish Band and Ryan Starr all were scheduled to entertain the crowd with live music until after midnight.

Cook said the TDC and the event sponsors have all come together to put this event on.

“We’re just trying to work as a community to make things better. It’s really going to be a good time,” Cook said.

Several people on The News Herald’s Facebook page wrote about their plans.

Christy Knight said her family goes to Pier Park every year and their youngest child, who is 8, enjoys it.

“Our youngest loves the beach balls for the kids,” Knight said.

Some people opted not to be in the midst of the crowds at Pier Park, and made other plans such as going to places like the Skate Factory and then having a party at home for adults or staying at home and eating oysters, soaking black eyed peas and watching football.

Jacob Nelson said he had loaded up on fireworks for a traditional neighborhood competition.

“I plan to sit on my lake front home on Crystal Lake and have fireworks competition with the other homeowners around the lake till the wee hours of the morning,” he said.

beach Balls ball drop, eve celebration, festivities, fun and sun, new year, time charles

By Edgar Thompson

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Updated: 5:44 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010

Posted: 2:25 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010

For as long as he can remember, George Slupski has had his own ideas about golf.

It didn’t matter to Slupski how low he could go, but how far.

"I never really took playing golf that serious," said Slupski, who lives in Boynton Beach. "I became a decent player, a 2-handicap at 19, but I never practiced. I just went to the driving range and smashed the golf ball as hard as I could."

His testosterone-fueled approach helped him contradict conventional wisdom – "Drive for show, putt for dough" – and become a long-drive champion.

Slupski, 45, has won more than a dozen competitions, including his first world title recently in the World Long Drive Championship in Mesquite, Nev.

Slupski lived up to his nickname – "the Animal" – with a record-setting performance to win the senior division (ages 45 to 50) and $50,000.

During the semifinals, Slupski hit five of his six attempts beyond 375 yards, including a 405-yard blast that was the longest ever in the senior division.

Needing to clear 376 yards in the finals with just two balls remaining, he nailed a 389-yard drive to win.

"I took it down to the wire with both balls," he said. (The contest will be televised at 2 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2.)

Slupski has been thinking about long drives for a long time. While growing up in Western Pennsylvania, he saw an exhibition by Evan "big Cat" Williams – one of the pioneers of long driving – at the Erie Classic. the 6-foot-6 Williams – known to hit a wedge shot 200 yards and drives of 400 yards – put on a show Slupski never would forget.

"as a kid," he recalled, "I was in awe of that."

Even before "big Cat" came to town, Slupski and his friends were fascinated by the long ball.

"we didn’t care where the ball went," Slupski said. "we didn’t care about chipping and putting. it was all about swinging for the fences."

Slupski soon was leaving his friends behind and outdriving opponents by 60 and 70 yards in junior tournaments.

"I became kind of like a legend in town," he said. "at that age, I started thinking long drive."

Caddying was Slupski’s primary source of income – and still is at the Old Palm Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens. it also made him realize that becoming a conventional pro golfer might be an unrealistic goal.

"I caddied for pros back then occasionally, and I was nowhere near their league," he said. "There’s a huge difference between a 2-handicap and guy on a tour. … They’re shotmakers. and around the greens, they’re just better."

Still, Slupski has his own gift.

In the culture of long drivers, a 300-yard drive is passé, while the next 50 yards separate the men from the boys.

"either you have it or you don’t," he said. "you can get to the point of maybe hitting it 300, but to hit it 350 it’s almost unteachable."

At 6-foot-3 and 260 pounds, Slupski is as flexible as a Pilates instructor and as powerful as a linebacker. he broke his tailbone in a fall 2 1/2 years ago but now is healthy again.

Slupski is able to generate 140 mph of clubhead speed – 15 mph more than John Daly in his heyday – to send his ball at speeds of 205 mph ( 20 mph faster than Daly).

But if one thing – club speed, launch angle, ball speed, spin rate – is off when Slupski grips it and rips it, good luck finding it.

"It’s not always about swinging the hardest," he said.

To beat the world’s longest drivers, Slupski can’t hold back, either. Hitting it 400 yards is as macho as this gentleman’s game gets, but he tries to remain humble.

"I never go to a driving range running my mouth how far I hit it," he said. "There’s a lot of egos in this sport. but I’m just one injury from being an average golfer, so I try not to let it get to my head."

beach Balls attempts, competitions, driving range, i 98, nbsp